After landing, Kanoe said excitedly:
"Squadron Leader! The glider you made is so useful! With the ability to fly in the desert winds, the Sand ninjas simply can't hit us or catch up!"
Yōkō enjoyed the admiration and praise.
Some knowledge from his previous life had helped him in this strange form.
Yōkō said, "Kanoe, you and Tano practice controlling the glider well. It's the life-saving tool for this mission."
The next day, Yōkō returned to Crescent Moon Lake to check the effect of the poisoning.
The specially formulated toxin from the ANBU had contaminated the entire small lake.
The Sand ninja battalion had withdrawn from the small lake.
It was just a pity for this small, beautiful oasis, ruined just like that.
The water surface had turned purple, floating with the corpses of insects and small fish.
It was unknown how long it would take for groundwater to dilute the toxins, allowing life to return here.
Following the map, they found the second oasis. Yōkō used the same tactic, throwing the poison gourd into the oasis's water source and successfully escaping using the glider.
At the third oasis, things were no longer smooth sailing.
The oasis was larger, surrounded by a large number of Sand ninjas.
A rough glance showed at least three Sand ninja battalions guarding this place.
During the day, many transport squads entered the oasis, loaded up with fresh water, and sent it to the front lines.
After observing for several days, Yōkō discovered this oasis was a rest and rotation point for the Sand ninjas.
Battalions withdrawn from the front lines rested here, replenished personnel, trained, and then returned to the front.
There were always between three to four Sand ninja battalions in the oasis.
Yōkō observed for several days but found no opportunity to strike.
In the darkness of night, Yōkō lay prone far from the oasis, buried in the sand.
It was very troublesome.
Three Sand ninja battalions were not something he could assault head-on.
Unable to devise a plan, Yōkō turned over and lay on his back on the sand.
The sand covering him slid away.
In the night sky, moonlight shone on the floating clouds, turning them grey-white.
Those clouds, so high, so leisurely, unlike Yōkō, who was being worn down by the mission.
A thought suddenly struck Yōkō.
He'd risk it!
He summoned Kanoe Squad and said, "Let's go, we will complete the mission tonight!"
Kanoe Squad didn't know what tactic the Squadron Leader had, but they followed him.
They moved far away from the oasis.
Yōkō said, "Hamo, you are a wind style user. You fly the glider and take me up."
Kanoe couldn't help but ask, "Squadron Leader, what about me and Tano?"
"You two will provide support. If things go smoothly, Hamo and I are enough to complete the mission."
The glider took off, flying high into the sky.
"Hamo, fly as high as you can! We'll take turns using Wind Release: Great Breakthrough to provide thrust for the glider."
With the help of Wind Release, the glider flew higher and higher until it was level with the clouds.
From over a thousand meters high, people on the ground saw the glider like a large bird.
He remembered a piece of news from his previous life where someone used a glider to reach over eight thousand meters, was spotted by an airplane, and the pilot thought he was hallucinating.
The glider adjusted its direction, arriving above the target oasis.
Yōkō, with his back to Hamo, closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they held the Sharingan.
Don't underestimate a single tomoe Sharingan.
He used Shadow Clone again, having the clone hold the poison gourd.
This shadow clone, like Yōkō, also had the Sharingan active.
Gripping the shadow clone's shoulder firmly, Yōkō threw the clone downward.
Go! Shadow Clone!
The shadow clone, holding the poison gourd, plummeted straight down.
While in mid-air, the shadow clone continuously used weak wind release to adjust its direction.
In the oasis, a Sand ninja was leaning against a post, slacking off.
He gazed at the moon, complaining inwardly, wondering when the war would end and when he could return to his village.
The Konoha ninjas were too terrifying.
Fire Release countered Wind Release; in the face of powerful fireballs, the air currents churned and heated, making Wind Release completely unable to maintain its power.
As he stared at the moon, lost in thought, he saw a black dot appear in the night sky.
The black dot was falling rapidly.
At first, he thought it was a peregrine falcon diving with its wings tucked in. How interesting that this falcon seemed to be heading straight for him.
A dozen seconds later, he jumped up from the post with a start, shouting sharply, "Enemy attack!"
His cry spread through the night.
Several duty squads rushed out of the oasis, guarding the perimeter.
The squad leaders thought they were reacting quickly, but after rushing outside the oasis, they couldn't see anyone.
"Up there!"
The squad leader then realized he had instinctively looked around nearby upon hearing 'enemy attack,' never expecting the enemy to come from above.
The three Battalion Commanders emerged from their tents, looking up to see the black shadow rapidly falling from mid-air.
"Stop him!"
Ninjutsu, kunai, shuriken, puppets – all flew into the air.
The shadow clone, relying on its twice-enhanced reaction speed and the observational power of the Sharingan, constantly twisted and turned in the air, dodging all attacks.
The three Sand ninja Battalion Commanders below used a combined ninjutsu.
Three tornadoes moved across the oasis lake; anything above would be swept away by them.
Yōkō's shadow clone opened the lid of the poison gourd, then turned it around and poked a hole in its bottom.
He pressed his mouth to the hole in the gourd.
"Water Release: Water Cutting Wave!"
A high-speed Water Cutting Wave jet, carrying the poison from the gourd, formed a high-speed toxic stream that shot straight towards the oasis.
The toxic jet pierced through the turbulent air between the tornadoes.
The three Sand ninja Battalion Commanders watched helplessly as the poison stream hit the lake.
That purple water line, under the moonlight, looked like a deadly dark laser.
"Kill him! We must kill him!"
The shadow clone continued its descent, only being dispersed by the tornadoes once it reached their attack range.
High in the sky, Yōkō received the memories returned by the shadow clone.
For dangerous missions, shadow clones were indeed useful.
Success!
"Retreat! Don't lose altitude! Keep flying!"
The Sand ninjas on the ground searched desperately. Hamo found a few cloud layers and successfully used them to block their view, disappearing.
Yōkō looked at the glider's canopy, primarily composed of an upper and lower surface with different curvatures, providing lift during flight through differences in airspeed.
The glider he had developed through experimentation worked quite well.
In the early morning of the next day, Yōkō and Hamo finally landed.
They had become separated from Kanoe and Tano.
Yōkō said:
"The oasis we destroyed last night was extremely important. Heading towards the Land of Rivers now would likely mean encountering furious search parties. We'll lie low for a few days and wait for Kanoe and Tano."
Hamo asked, "Squadron Leader, where should we hide?"
"The most dangerous place is the safest," Yōkō said.
"Let's go to the first destroyed oasis, Crescent Moon Lake. The Sand ninjas would never expect us to be near that useless little lake.
Leave signals along the way. Perhaps Kanoe will see them and catch up to us."
Returning to the vicinity of Crescent Moon Lake, Yōkō found that there were actually people by the lake.
Looking closer, he relaxed; they weren't Sand ninjas, but a few civilians – a young girl leading three children.
That girl had gradient hair, blue at the roots, fading to yellow at the tips.
The next moment made Yōkō tense up; the girl and the three children were actually heading towards Crescent Moon Lake with jars and basins!
Couldn't they see the water was purple?
Yōkō had Hamo stay outside the oasis to scout, while he put on desert traveler's clothing and hurried towards the lake.
"Wait! You can't drink that water!"
***
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(Chapter End)